As a national advertising campaign is launched to encourage voter registration ahead of the General Election, South Somerset District Council is encouraging local people to visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
On May 7 voters will go to the polls to elect a Member of Parliament for the Yeovil and the Somerton and Frome constituencies. Local District Council and Parish elections are also taking place on the same day.
The Electoral Commission launched its national voter registration campaign yesterday (Monday 16 March) to remind people to register by April 20.
Ian Clarke, Electoral Registration Officer for South Somerset District Council, said, “Time is now running short to make sure you can take part in the elections, so I’d encourage everyone in South Somerset to take action now if they aren’t registered to vote. Our message is simple: you can’t vote, if you aren’t registered by 20 April. It’s easy to do and only take a few minutes online at gov.uk/register-to-vote. If you’re not sure, please double check’.
Residents can check whether they’re registered to vote by calling 01935 462462.
Recent research conducted by YouGov for the Electoral Commission found that:
- 21% of people who rent privately think they’re automatically registered to vote if they pay council tax
- 40% of those surveyed think it is not possible to register to vote online in England, Scotland and Wales.
- 69% do not know that the deadline to register to vote, with 13% thinking it is already too late to register. When given a choice of five options only 32% correctly identified the deadline as 20 April